Agriculture Development, Food Security and Nutrition

A/RES/72/238View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 25 Agriculture development, food security and nutrition, published in 2018.

What other versions does this mandate have?

13 versions · 2014–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/157

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/157	Agriculture development, food security and nutrition	9,425	74%Compare
2024	A/RES/79/227	Agriculture development, food security and nutrition	10,153	82%Compare
2023	A/RES/78/168	Agriculture development, food security and nutrition	9,764	78%Compare
2022	A/RES/77/186	Agriculture development, food security and nutrition	8,546	72%Compare
2022	A/RES/76/222	Agriculture development, food security and nutrition	7,451	89%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

12 reports · 2014–2025

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2025	A/80/376	The role of international trade in ensuring food security and nutrition report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/79/227
2024	A/79/193	Advancing coherence to achieve food security and nutrition, ecosystem integrity, climate action and social justice report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/78/168
2023	A/78/218	The future of food and agriculture : drivers and triggers for achieving sustainable agrifood systems report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/77/186
2022	A/77/241	Agriculture development, food security and nutrition report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/76/222
2021	A/76/216	Agriculture development, food security and nutrition report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/75/235

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 subjects

Agricultural Development Food Security Food Supply Malnutrition Nutrition Sustainable Agriculture Sustainable Development

What’s in this document?

37 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;²⁷

²⁷A/72/303.

Stresses the importance of continued consideration of the issue of agriculture development, food security and nutrition, and encourages Member States and relevant stakeholders to give due consideration to this issue while implementing the internationally agreed development goals, in particular the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development²⁸ and its Sustainable Development Goals;

²⁸Resolution 70/1.

Emphasizes that sustainable agricultural production, food security and nutrition are key elements for the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, and calls for greater efforts to sustainably enhance the agricultural production capacities, productivity and food security of developing countries;

Expresses concern that the world is not on track to eradicate hunger and malnutrition by 2030 and that scarce and unsustainably managed natural resources, combined with insecure and uneven tenure rights for smallholders, are severely affecting those in vulnerable situations in rural areas, that climate change, drought, desertification and conflict and post-conflict situations are challenges with regard to food security and nutrition and diet-related non-communicable diseases in many places, preventing progress in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and that countries in protracted crises are at risk of being left behind;

Reiterates the importance of developing countries determining their own food security strategies, that improving food security and nutrition is a global challenge and a national policy responsibility and that any plans for addressing this challenge in the context of eradicating poverty must be nationally articulated, designed, owned, led and built in consultation, as an inclusive process, with all key stakeholders at the national level, as appropriate, and urges Member States, especially those affected, to make food security and nutrition a high priority and to reflect this in their national programmes and budgets;

Calls upon the international community to continue its support for the implementation of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme and its results framework, which is an integral component of the Programme that provides guidance on planning and implementing investment programmes;

Encourages Member States, in designing their national policies, to fully take into account the Rome Declaration on Nutrition2 as well as the Framework for Action,3 which provides a set of voluntary policy options and strategies for the use of Governments, as appropriate;

Urges increased political commitment by Member States to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition, notes, in this regard, the Scaling Up Nutrition movement, and encourages Member States to engage in the movement at the global and country levels to reduce the increasing level in global hunger and all forms of malnutrition, in particular among children, especially children under the age of 2, women, especially those who are pregnant and lactating, and youth;

Emphasizes the six global nutrition targets set by the World Health Assembly to address global malnutrition and the related monitoring framework;

Takes note of the Global Nutrition for Growth Compact, signed by more than 100 countries, companies and civil society organizations, to reduce the number of stunted children by 20 million by 2020 and the financial commitments made to support this goal, as well as the second Nutrition for Growth event, which was held in August 2016;

Welcomes the Secretary-General’s Zero Hunger Challenge and the aim of a world free from hunger, and recognizes the progress made in improving cooperation, coordination and coherence by all stakeholders to overcome the challenges of hunger and malnutrition;

Stresses the need to increase sustainable agricultural production and productivity globally, noting the diversity of agricultural conditions and systems, including by improving and aiming to ensure the functioning of markets and trading systems and strengthening international cooperation, particularly for developing countries, and by increasing responsible public and private investment in sustainable agriculture, land management and rural development, as well as collaboration in science, technology and innovation, and notes that the benefit of such public and private investment and engagement should also reach, where appropriate, local smallholders in appropriate knowledge management systems and communications systems with regard to promoting food security, improving nutrition outcomes and reducing inequality;

Recognizes the need to increase the resilience and sustainability of food and agricultural production with regard to climate change in the context of the rising demand for crops, bearing in mind the importance of safeguarding food security and ending hunger and the particular vulnerabilities of food production systems to the adverse impacts of climate change, and encourages efforts at all levels to support climate-sensitive agricultural practices, including agroforestry, conservation agriculture, water management schemes, drought-and flood-resistant seeds and sustainable livestock management, and to establish and strengthen interfaces between scientists, decision makers, entrepreneurs and funders of science, technology and innovation, as well as measures to strengthen the resilience of those in vulnerable situations and of food systems, which can also have a wider positive impact, emphasizing adaptation to climate change as a major concern and objective for all farmers and food producers, especially small-scale producers;

Reaffirms the need to promote, enhance and support more sustainable agriculture, including crops, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, that improves food security, eradicates hunger, helps to prevent malnutrition and is economically viable, while conserving land, water, plant and animal genetic resources, biodiversity and ecosystems and enhancing resilience to climate change and natural disasters, and recognizes the need to maintain natural ecological processes that support sustainable and efficient food production systems and ensure food security, and takes note of the importance of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

Expresses concern about antimicrobial resistance, in particular in the agricultural sector, and in this regard encourages the implementation of the action plan on antimicrobial resistance 2016–2020 of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which supports the food and agriculture sectors in implementing the global action plan on antimicrobial resistance21 developed by the World Health Organization in collaboration with, and subsequently adopted by, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Organization for Animal Health, in order to minimize the impact of antimicrobial resistance;

Recognizes that sustainable food systems have a fundamental role to play in promoting healthy diets and improving nutrition, and welcomes the formulation and implementation of internationally consistent national policies, aimed at eradicating malnutrition in all its forms and transforming food systems so as to make nutritious diets available to all, while reaffirming that health, water and sanitation systems must be strengthened simultaneously to end malnutrition;

Also recognizes the critical role and contribution of rural women, including smallholders and women farmers, and indigenous women and women in local communities, and their traditional knowledge in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty, and in this regard stresses the importance of reviewing agricultural policies and strategies to ensure that the critical role of women in food security and nutrition is recognized and addressed as an integral part of both short- and long-term responses to food insecurity, malnutrition, potential excessive price volatility and food crises in developing countries;

Reaffirms the crucial role of healthy marine ecosystems, sustainable fisheries and sustainable aquaculture in enhancing food security and access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food and in providing for the livelihoods of millions of people, particularly inhabitants of small island developing States, and in this regard encourages the full implementation of the Global Action Programme on Food Security and Nutrition in Small Island Developing States, which was launched on 4 July 2017;

Encourages and recognizes the efforts at all levels to establish and strengthen social protection measures and programmes, including national safety nets and protection programmes for the needy and vulnerable, such as food and cash-for-work, cash transfer and voucher programmes, school feeding programmes and mother-and-child nutrition programmes, and in this regard underlines the importance of increasing investment, capacity-building and systems development;

Calls for closing the gender gap in access to productive resources in agriculture, noting with concern that the gender gap persists with respect to many assets, inputs and services, and stresses the need to invest in and strengthen efforts to empower women, in particular rural women, to address their own food and nutritional needs and those of their families, to promote adequate standards of living for them, as well as decent conditions of work, and to guarantee their personal health, well-being and security, full access to land and natural resources and access to local, regional and global markets;

Remains deeply concerned about the recurring food insecurity and malnutrition in different regions of the world and their ongoing negative impact on health and nutrition, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia, and in this regard underlines the urgent need for joint efforts at all levels to respond to the situation in a coherent and effective manner;

Recognizes the important role of indigenous peoples and local communities, small-scale farmers, livestock farmers, small-scale fishers and fish workers and their traditional knowledge and seed supply systems, as well the important role of new technologies in the conservation of biodiversity and in aiming to ensure food security and improved nutrition;

Stresses the importance of the application of science, technology and innovation and related knowledge management and communications systems in ensuring food security by 2030, and encourages the adoption of the most advanced and appropriate information technology, such as the Internet, mobile platforms, meteorology, big data and cloud computing, in agriculture systems in order to support the efforts of smallholder and family farmers to increase their resilience, productivity and incomes and include them in the development of research and innovation agendas;

Emphasizes the need to revitalize the agriculture sector, promote rural development and aim for ensuring food security and nutrition, notably in developing countries, in a sustainable manner, which will contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and underlines the importance of taking the necessary actions to better address the needs of rural communities by, inter alia, enhancing access for agricultural producers, in particular small producers, women, youth, indigenous peoples and local communities, in conflict and post-conflict situations, to credit and other financial services, markets, secure land tenure, health-care services, social services, education, training, knowledge and appropriate and affordable technologies, including for development of local crops, efficient irrigation, reuse of treated wastewater and water harvesting and storage;

Recognizes that, by 2050, the world urban population is expected to nearly double, making urbanization one of the most transformative trends of the twenty-first century, underscoring the growing need to take action to fight hunger and malnutrition among the urban poor through promoting the integration of the food security and nutrition needs of urban residents, in particular the urban poor, in urban and territorial planning, to end hunger and malnutrition, promoting the coordination of sustainable food security and agriculture policies across urban, peri-urban and rural areas to facilitate the production, storage, transport and marketing of food to consumers in adequate and affordable ways, to reduce food losses and to prevent and reuse food waste, and promoting the coordination of food policies with energy, water, health, transport and waste and other policies in urban areas to maximize efficiencies and minimize waste;

Reaffirms the need to strive for a comprehensive twin-track approach to food security and nutrition that consists of direct action to immediately tackle hunger for the most vulnerable and medium- and long-term sustainable agriculture, food security and nutrition and rural development programmes to eliminate the root causes of hunger and poverty, including through the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security;

Also reaffirms the need to promote a significant expansion of research on food, nutrition and agriculture, extension services, training and education, and of funding for such research from all sources, to improve agricultural productivity and sustainability in order to strengthen agriculture as a key sector, to promote development and to build up resilience to support better recovery from crisis, including by strengthening the work of the reformed Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research so as to enhance its development impact, supporting national research systems, public universities and research institutions and promoting technology transfer on mutually agreed terms, the voluntary sharing of knowledge and practices and research to adapt to climate change and improve equitable access to research results and technologies on mutually agreed terms at the national, regional and international levels, while giving due consideration to the preservation of genetic resources;

Stresses that a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system will promote agriculture and rural development in developing countries and contribute to world food security and nutrition, and urges national, regional and international strategies to promote the inclusive participation of farmers and fishers and fish workers, especially small-scale farmers, including women, in community, national, regional and international markets;

Recognizes the efforts made by Member States and United Nations agencies that have already announced their commitments to the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016–2025),²⁹ and encourages all relevant stakeholders to actively support the implementation of the Decade, including by making commitments and establishing action networks;

²⁹Resolution 70/259.

Stresses the need to continue to strengthen cooperation and coordination among the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the regional commissions and all other relevant entities of the United Nations system and other intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions and international trade and economic institutions, including with the support of the Secretary-General’s High-level Task Force on Global Food and Nutrition Security in accordance with their respective mandates, in order to increase their effectiveness, as well as to strengthen cooperation with non-governmental organizations and the public and private sectors in promoting and strengthening efforts towards sustainable agriculture development, food security and nutrition;

Notes the International Fund for Agricultural Development initiative of organizing the first International Conference on South-South and Triangular Cooperation, on the theme “Leveraging Innovations from the Global South to Support Rural Transformation”, held in Brasilia on 20 and 21 November 2017;

Recognizes the contribution made thus far by early warning systems, and underlines that the reliability and timeliness of such systems should be further strengthened at the national, regional and international levels, with a focus on countries that are particularly vulnerable to price shocks and food emergencies;

Reaffirms the important role and inclusive nature of the Committee on World Food Security as a major intergovernmental platform for a broad range of stakeholders to work together towards ensuring food security and nutrition for all, and notes the three main functions of policy convergence, lesson-sharing and progress review that the Committee performs in support of the integrated implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to ending hunger and malnutrition;

Encourages countries to give due consideration to the dissemination, promotion and implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security,24 as well as the voluntary Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems,23 as endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security in 2012 and 2014, respectively;

Also encourages countries to give due consideration to the dissemination, promotion and implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security, adopted by the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2004;³⁰

³⁰E/CN.4/2005/131, annex.

Calls upon the relevant organizations of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates and resources, to ensure that no one is left behind and no country is left behind in the implementation of the present resolution;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-third session a report on the implementation of the present resolution, and decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-third session the item entitled “Agriculture development, food security and nutrition”, unless otherwise agreed.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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